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APR-MAY 2018

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F O A M : N E W S + T R E N D S
SECOND-ANNUAL SCA SENSORY SUMMIT
DIVES DEEP INTO THE SCIENCE OF
EXPERIENCE AND PERCEPTION
I BROUGHT A BRAND-NEW NOTEBOOK to Sensory Sum-
mit, an interactive series of workshops and tastings hosted by
the Specialty Coffee Association's (SCA) Coffee Roasters Guild
and held January 25–27 at the University of California at Davis
Coffee Center. After two days of presentations and lectures, as
well as dozens of samples and experiments, my notebook was
completely full. In the course of those two days, presenters
from fi elds as varied as product design, cheese making, and
chemical engineering talked about how we taste and experience
coffee at what has already become one of the most exciting and
highly anticipated coffee events of the year.
Sensory Summit looks to other fi elds to expand on our
industry's understanding of how fl avor is developed, how
preferences are formed, and how to build better palates. "The
craft of roasting takes more than skills in coffee cookery,"
says Roasters Guild Executive Council member Joe Marroc-
co. "Coffee roasters have long relied on conventional wisdom
passed down through generations to decide the best practices
around how to best sensorially analyze their coffee. Through
organizations like the Coffee Roasters Guild, better tools—
more scientifi cally vetted tools—have become more implemented."
Sensory Summit employs the facilities and staff that are part of
the UC Davis Coffee Center.
"In only three years, the Roasters Guild has created a truly
unique and exciting event based on the continuation of our shared
knowledge," says Jen Apodaca, Roasters Guild Executive Council
member and one of the Summit's original organizers. "Industry pro-
fessionals and researchers alike present on their work side by side,
the conversations are illuminating, and attendees feel like they are
at the epicenter of discussions that will move our industry forward."
More than 100 attendees tasted and tested an array of coffees,
beers, teas, and treats, and used their impressions and fi ndings to
talk about larger issues with implications for sense and consumption.
"So you go to the store and you buy a green tea, and the box says
'high in antioxidants,' but how do we know that?" asked Professor
Albert Robbat, a member of the chemistry faculty and director of
the Tufts University Sensory and Science Center.
In his speech, Professor Robbat broke down how climate affects
the fl avor of tea, and participants sampled green teas harvested at
different times, along with their antioxidant breakdown. While tech-
nically the late-harvest tea had more antioxidants, the early-har-
vest tea was by far superior in fl avor. Professor Robbat noted this
distinction as a sign of climate change on tea harvesting: Monsoon
and rainy seasons are occurring sooner, which means tea has to be
harvested quicker before the rains. "The off fl avor that you're tast-
ing—that's the plant trying to protect itself," he said.
Many of the discussions paired coffee experts with sensory
scientists and researchers. In the presentation "Product Innova-
tion through Sensory Design," Richard Harrod, a senior designer
for Breville, teamed up with Henry "Hoby" Welder, cofounder
and CEO of Senspoint Design, to talk about how design interacts
with sensory experience. "Consumers want a product that shows
you how it works," Richard said, getting into the nitty-gritty of
how every design decision affects how people assume a coffee will
taste. "We designed this beautiful home-espresso machine—it won
dozens of design awards," he continues, showing a slide of the sleek,
sophisticated appliance. "But people wanted a machine with more
buttons … they wanted to know it was working." Breville's current
home-espresso machine, he says, which looks more industrial, has
been vastly more popular.
Truly every single talk or lecture was interesting, and addressed
topics attendees were excited to explore. "We wouldn't have the
fl avor of chocolate if it weren't for fermentation," said Dr. Maria
Marco, PhD, an assistant professor at UCD, in her talk, "Fermenta-
tion and Flavor in Cheese," which she delivered with Sacha Laurin,
the head cheesemaker for Winters Cheese Company.
Professor William Ristenpart, who serves as the director of the
UC Davis Coffee Center and is a professor of chemical engineering,
had the audience's rapt attention for the discussion "Physical and
Sensory Measures of Coffee Brewing." The session found him and
postdoctoral scholar Scott Frost taking the Brewing Control Chart
(you know the one—it's a grid that breaks down what percentage
TDS and extraction is needed for an ideal cup of coffee) and smash-
ing any premise that it's the only way to measure what makes a good
cup of coffee. The duo played with the shape of the brew basket and
combined numerical data and taste studies to determine which was
better for extraction. "Basket geometry," Professor Ristenpart says,
"makes a difference."
Though promoted as a Coffee Roasters Guild activity, Sensory
Summit is a stunning example of an educational forum with take-
aways for professionals in all segments of the coffee industry. "This
event also allows different nodes on the coffee-value chain to gather
together with roasters," says Joe Marrocco. "Importers, exporters,
millers, roasters—we are all roasting samples and analyzing coffee."
The price of participation is steep—a single ticket for Sensory
Summit runs around $1,000—but I came away feeling it was 100
percent worth it.
ÑAshley Rodriguez
The SCA's Sensory Summit at UC Davis was an informative and interactive two days of
tasting, smelling, discussing, and enjoying myriad strange and delicious things.
PHOTO
COURTESY
OF
SCA
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